Storm to open the WNBA playoffs Wednesday night in Everett

ARLINGTON, Texas — Natasha Howard and Jewell Loyd combined to score 30 of their 38 points in the first half and the Seattle Storm beat the Dallas Wings 78-64 Sunday, helping them clinch the No. 6 seed in the WNBA playoffs.

The Storm, the defending champions, play host to No. 7 seed Minnesota in a single-elimination first-round game on Wednesday. The Lynx lost at Los Angeles and the Storm have the tiebreaker between the two teams.

Tuesday’s game will be played at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.

Seattle has won three in a row overall, and four straight at home, against the Lynx.

Howard had 16 of her 22 points in the first half and and Loyd had 14 of her 16 before the break.

Seattle (18-16) shot 53.1% (17-of-32) from the field in the first half while limiting the Wings to 8-of-29 (28.6 percent) and forcing 10 Wings turnovers to take a 44-26 lead into the break. Dallas trailed by at least 14 points the rest of the way.

Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings (10-24) with 25 points to finish the season with 630, the third-highest rookie scoring total in WNBA history.

Correction: An earlier version headline misstated the day the Seattle Storm host the playoff game. It will be Wednesday.